Coral Reef Adventure Teacher Workshop Monday, October 9, 2006, 9:30-2:30 New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (1801 Mountain Rd, NW) Albuquerque Aquarium (2601 Central Ave, NW) Martin J. Chávez, Mayor The BioPark is a division of the City of Albuquerque’s Cultural Services Department. Coral Workshop – Content Outline 1. WHAT IS CORAL ? A. Corals are members of the Phyla Cnidarian 1) Jellyfish, sea anemones, Portuguese man-o-war, sea pens etc. B. What do cnidarians all have in common? 1) Nematocysts – stinging cells – on tentacles and sometimes on the body a) Most can’t hurt you – like tape sticking to your finger b) Others can be more dangerous: i) Sea nettle, box jellies, Portuguese man-o-war Severe pain, even death, can occur after a sting 2) Radial symmetry 3) No gills or lungs – O 2 diffuses through the body into the cells 4) Simple sac – food comes in and waste goes out through the same opening 5) Simple “nerve net” – no central nervous system, though they do not have a brain, most have light sensitive organs, others well developed eyes Teachers’ Coral Workshop – v. 06 OCT 06 Page 1 of 16 2. CORAL TAXONOMY – corals are classified as follows: A. Class Anthozoa (sea pens, sea anemones, corals) 1). Subclass Alcyonaria (= Octocorallia) (eight tentacles) a) Alcyonacea (soft corals) b) Gorgonacea (sea fans, sea feathers) c) Helioporacea (Indo Pacific blue coral) d) Pennatulacea (sea pens and sea pansies) e) Stolonifera (organ pipe coral) 2) Subclass Zoantharia (= Hexacorallia) (more than 8 tentacles - typically 12) a) Antipatharia (black corals, thorny corals) b) Scleractinia (=Madreporaria) (stony corals) c) Corallimorpharia d) Ptychodactiaria 3. TYPES OF CORALS A. Most corals are marine (live in salt water) 1) Colonial and solitary corals 2) Most live in shallow water 3) Must have enough light to cultivate their “zooxanthellae” (pronounced: zo-anth-ella) a) “zooxanthellae” are algae living in a symbiotic relationship with the coral polyps b) zooxanthellae produce nutrients needed by the coral (will show importance later) B. Soft Corals (Octocorallia) i. All have 8 tentacles on the polyps ii. Blue corals, pipe organ corals and gorgonians (whip corals and sea fans) iii. Not all soft – some have spicules imbedded in skin; others have a fibrous skeleton others produce a carbonate “skeleton.” a. Colonial b. found in tropical to polar waters c. usually shallow water but some live in very deep water Teachers’ Coral Workshop – v. 06 OCT 06 Page 2 of 16 C. Hard Corals i. Colonial and solitary ii. Tentacles: 6 or multiples of 6 iii. Hard skeleton made of calcium carbonate iv. Always found in shallow water iv. All have zooxanthellae so limited to shallow water. vi. All prefer warmer water but can tolerate cooler water for short periods (from 16 0 – 23 0 C) a. Bleaching – if water gets too warm then the corals expel their zooxanthellae Hard coral morphologies a: digitate Acropora sp., b: massive Goniastrea sp., c: foliaceous Leptoria sp., d: solitary Fungia sp., e: table Acropora sp., f: corymbose Acropora sp . Teachers’ Coral Workshop – v. 06 OCT 06 Page 3 of 16 4. FOSSIL HISTORY A. Most cnidarians have a very poor fossil history i. Soft body, very unlikely to produce fossils B. Precambrian “Ediacara fauna” - ~600 million years old i. Fossils reminiscent of Sea pens and jellyfish C. Oldest true corals are found in Cambrian rocks but are extremely rare until the Ordovician D. First reefs were not dominated by corals but by algae and sponges. i. Early corals were a minor part of the reef E. Cambrian Xianguangia sinica - primitive sea anemone from China Harklessia yuenglingensis – a coral from Nevada Cambrophyllum problematicum - a coral from North America – i. Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale: Mackenzia costalis - sea anemone F. First coral reefs occur in the Silurian (440 - 410mya) Dominated by rugose and tabulate corals G. Modern corals appear at the end of the Triassic Dominate from the Jurassic H. Corals are very rare in the Cretaceous - shallow warm sea, but had a muddy bottom Teachers’ Coral Workshop – v. 06 OCT 06 Page 4 of 16 5. REEF FORMATION A. Corals need: Sunlight Clean silt-free water Prefer constant salinity B. Will do poorly if: Brackish water (not as salty as seawater Cold water Silty or cloudy water C. Three kinds of reef: Fringe reef - Form a long shelf of coral from shore to reef edge - Form primarily on coasts of arid regions where there is little runoff from rivers (rivers bring in fresh water and also deposit silt) - Tend to be fairly young structures Barrier reefs - Form a distance from the coast with a lagoon in between. - The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef system in the worlds Atolls - Form a ring around an island. - As sea level rises or as a volcanic island subsides, coral dies back in the deeper water and forms a ring marking the spot where the island was. Teachers’ Coral Workshop – v. 06 OCT 06 Page 5 of 16 6. IMPORTANCE OF REEFS “rainforest of the sea” Provide living area for many fish species that we in turn catch for food Huge diversity of species Protect seacoast from storms and surges Remove CO 2 from atmosphere to make the reefs structure Teachers’ Coral Workshop – v. 06 OCT 06 Page 6 of 16 7. CORAL REEFS TODAY Occur in warm waters around the world where temperature is anywhere between 68 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit, and the salinity levels tend to be between 34 to 37 parts per 1000. Caribbean reefs Flower Garden Banks Belize Barrier Reef Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is about 18 million years old in the north and 2 million years old to the south. Modern reef structures are around 8,000 + years old (sea level increased at end of ice age.) Teachers’ Coral Workshop – v. 06 OCT 06 Page 7 of 16 8. CORAL LIFE CYCLES Planulae Mature Planulae Planulae release Primary polyp Zygote Brooders asexual reproduction Internal fertilization Sperm Mature Colony Synchronous release Eggs Broadcasters External fertilization fragmentation Hard Coral spawning coral planula coral planula newly settled coral – primary polyp Teachers’ Coral Workshop – v. 06 OCT 06 Page 8 of 16 Diagram of polyp propagation via budding Teachers’ Coral Workshop – v. 06 OCT 06 Page 9 of 16 9 - BOTTLE BIOLOGY – Maintaining a Cnidarian Polyp Colony Materials 2- liter soft drink bottle Electric drill Measuring stick or tape measure 1/4 inch drill bit 3’ length 1/4 inch aquarium hose small air pump (3 to 5 gallon capacity) Sharpie marker “air stone” clear tape (scotch tape works well) scissors Live marine algae with sea anemones (we will be using the Brown Anemone Aiptasia , aka Tube, Glass, or Rock anemones) Instructions 1. Drill 1/4 inch hole in the bottle lid 2. Draw a line around the bottle 8 inches from the bottom 3. Make sure to draw a mark on the line for later alignment 4. Carefully cut along the line. You may have to pierce the bottle with a knife to start the cut 5. Using a Sharpie mark the bottle 6 inches from the bottom. This will be your fill line. 6. Pull a loose tennis ball - sized chunk of algae and insert into the bottle 7. Fill the bottle with sea water to the 6-inch mark. 8. Line up the alignment marks on the bottle. Secure the bottle top with tape. You may want to tape a small section first just to hold the top in place to make it easier to tape the rest of the top on. 9. Push the 1/4 inch tube through the hole in the bottle top. 10. Plug in the air stone 11. Screw on the bottle top 12. Press on the tubing so it is about half way to the bottom 13. Connect the air pump. Care of the mini aquarium 1. Do not attempt to keep fish in this tank. The water volume is so small the chance of fish surviving in this tank are very low. 2. Put the tank in bright indirect sunlight or where it can get direct sunlight for only a short period of time. There must be enough light for the algae to carry on photosynthesis, but not so much that it can damage the plants and animals. 3. You will not have to feed the tank as the algae can use light to photosynthesis. The small sea anemones have a symbiotic relationship with algae that lives in their tissues. These algae provide the anemones with nutrients they need to survive. If you wish you may put a few brine shrimp in the bottle to see what happens. Do not over feed the tank as the water will get polluted and could harm both the algae and the anemones. 3. Add only fresh water to the tank. Only fill to the fill line. As water evaporates, salts become more concentrated. By adding fresh water, the salt concentration stays at tolerable levels for both the algae and the anemones. Teachers’ Coral Workshop – v. 06 OCT 06 Page 10 of 16 10- HOME /C LASSROOM REEF AQUARIUMS References: The Reef Aquarium (Volume One and Two ) by Charles Delbeek and Julian Sprung - the best (with some argument) Perhaps the most comprehensive reference available. -Downside-- probably the most expensive at $80 per volume but can be found in the library Natural Reef Aquariums by John. H. Tullock - a mid-range book about $30 - a good resource --- covers many approaches to reef aquarium set up, information is reliable and water quality charts etc. are very useful. - Downside-- the information is a little odd in it's organization.